Review Wismec REULEAUX RX200
More recently, just a few weeks ago, Wismec made a considerable splash in the market of high-performance battery mods with its model REULEAUX DNA200, built on the true masterpiece of the American manufacturer of electronic vaping board Evolv DNA200. You probably already managed to read the review of this model, and already know that Wismec turned out to be a kind of “knight without fear and reproach”, the disadvantages of which could be attributed to the rather considerable price and the need to make settings using a special PC program to open all its incredible features.
In its next model, which was announced almost immediately after the REULEAUX DNA200, the manufacturer decided to offer customers almost the same capabilities, but for substantially less money, replacing the Evolv production board, which made up a fair amount of the price, with a proprietary board. Naturally, while preserving all the basic characteristics of the mod – a huge output power of 200 watts, three 18650 batteries and an excellent looking and even better design in the hand from the Jay Bo modder.
It’s time to get to know the Wismec REULEAUX RX200 closer.
MEETING ON CLOTHES
As you can see, just a couple of letters have changed in the name. And, at the first glance at the mod itself, you can’t see any significant changes either – only now REULEAUX is available in two colors at once: pretty white with mint, and classic strict black. Well, all three buttons were also repainted, from silver to black. Otherwise, outwardly, REULEAUX has remained the same, and to find other differences, you will have to carefully look closely. Without any particular stretch, we can say that the RX200 is a new motherboard placed in an excellent “old” case.
We looked at the appearance, materials and workmanship of the REULEAUX case in detail in the REULEAUX DNA200 review, so we won’t repeat it, just briefly go over the differences between the looks of the two models – especially since there are also enough differences.
We already talked about new colors and blackened buttons (by the way, the Jay Bo autograph still flaunts on the main key), there is a slight difference in the design of the insert under the display. If in REULEAUX DNA200 there was a simple hole in it through which you could see the display of the DNA200 board itself in depth, then in the RX200 this window, although it has the same dimensions and shapes, is covered with a protective glass flush with the case. This is due to the fact that the RX200 control board has its own display that is noticeably smaller than the DNA200, and the tinted transparent plastic insert successfully masks this difference. Due to the fact that the new display glass is now flush with the case, we can say that it looks even more inaccurate than its older brother. Yes, and the black color of the buttons, perhaps, benefited the appearance.
Now let’s look under the battery cover – what if there are innovations there too? Indeed, the contacts of the battery compartment look different than what the REULEAUX DNA200 has, now the plus contacts are devoid of plastic sides that protect against reverse polarity. According to the manufacturer, protection against improper battery installation is implemented on the board itself. Otherwise, there are no changes here, everything is still cramped in the compartment, but three 18650 batteries are located in comfort, and the lid still holds on to four magnets, and if it’s backlash, then it’s very small, almost imperceptible.
Here it is worthwhile to finish the discussion of appearance, since no more differences between the two models are visible. There are no differences in size and weight – they completely coincide with the dimensions and weight of REULEAUX DNA200.
It’s time to install the batteries, turn on the REULEAUX RX200 and figure out what changes have occurred inside.
IN YOUR STYLE
Just one glance at the display of the included mode is enough to understand that there is no trace left of the filling in the form of DNA200, and the installed board is clearly of Joyetech origin. By the size of the screen and the displayed information, it seems that a board is installed inside the RX200, very similar to the board from Eleaf iStick TC60W, except that the font is different (with serifs) and the brightness of the display seemed to us lower than that of iStick. It would be logical to assume that the control algorithm also migrated here from iStick, and this assumption is fully confirmed: for those who have previously used mods such as iStick 30W, iStick TC60W, it seems completely native and familiar. So, on the small display on the left we see a vertical battery icon, by the appearance of which you can judge the remaining charge, next to it are two small digital fields next to it, the upper one of which is responsible for showing resistance, and the lower one, depending on the mode, displays either voltage or power, and large numbers of the main mode on the right – here is either the selected power in VW mode, or the set temperature in TC modes.
There is still a place to the right of the name of the mode (w, Ni, Ti or SS), as well as to indicate the temperature scale (oC or oF). It is not thick, but it must be admitted that all the information the user needs is displayed. In addition, such an interface is very well established on the iStick and shows itself well in practice.
If we compare the displays of the RX200 and DNA200, they are approximately equal in the amount of information displayed and the convenience of its perception, and the disadvantages of a simpler RX200 compared to the more advanced DNA200 are the small print and the inability to adjust the brightness and the information that will be displayed in different fields. Here, of course, DNA200 is a cut above – literally everything can be configured on it. Another thing is that the Wismec engineers did a good job, and it is unlikely that you will experience the inconvenience that nothing can be changed on the RX200 display. In the end, it seems that no one seriously complained about the iStick display.
EVERYTHING’S UNDER CONTROL
In addition to the method of displaying information on the display, other control features also migrated from iStick – all the same, switching on and off is done by pressing the main button five times, all the same, the control buttons can be locked by holding them down for several seconds at a time when the mode is on, and then the same when turned off, you can turn the screen upside down to grab with the other hand. Pressing the main button and the right button for several seconds simultaneously blocks or unblocks the resistance in the thermal control modes, and the same thing, but with the left button, turns the stealth mode on and off, in which the screen will not light when hovering.
To switch between the varivatt, Ni, Ti and SS modes, you just need to press the main button three times, and then you just need to set the power or temperature with the left and right buttons – and you can soar. Pressing the main button four times in any of the thermal control modes allows you to set the maximum power threshold. Among the modes, you might have expected to see Bypass, but if you think about it, its absence here is understandable – we have not one, but three batteries, and if you apply voltage from them directly to the evaporator, even with the last winding resistance of 1 Ohm, we we get an output power of almost 160 watts, which your evaporator is unlikely to be ready for. And is it really necessary to use Bypass with the declared power of a variwatt of 200 W? We think not.
But there is support for all modern winding materials for thermal control, including exotic so far stainless steel (SS). Do not forget about the possibility of updating the firmware using a special program that can be downloaded from the official website of the manufacturer. If some functionality is missing in the RX200 now, it will most likely appear in future firmware versions. By the way, the device came to our test with firmware 1.03, and with the help of the program it was possible to update it to version 1.07, although we can’t say that this led to some noticeable changes. Unfortunately, the manufacturer has not yet published the list of changes made to the firmware.
If we talk about the minimum supported load resistance, then the REULEAUX RX200 has nothing to be ashamed of – quite decent 0.1 Ohms in the variable mode, and the usual 0.05 Ohms in thermal control modes.
INSTEAD OF RESULTS
We tried to steam different atomizers on the REULEAUX RX200 , including those with stainless steel evaporators, and found that in all modes it works perfectly without any unpleasant surprises. The declared 200 watts are also regularly issued, although, admittedly, we have not yet performed instrumental measurements, for our test bench this is too high a power, it will have to be improved a bit.
In general, if you managed to like REULEAUX DNA200, but you are a little afraid of its high price or technical “trick”, we advise you to pay attention to its “little brother” – perhaps its ease of use in combination with high performance will turn out to be exactly what you would like to see in a powerful battery mode.
